Good morning Birdland,
There has been a whole lotta smoke around the Orioles’ hunt for a starting pitcher this week.
A few days ago, Jon Heyman described the O’s as “in” on Zac Gallen, alongside the Cubs
and the Diamondbacks. On Friday, Heyman reported that the Orioles are also keeping tabs on Lucas Giolito. All of this is happening while many in the industry still believe that Framber Valdez ends up in Baltimore. And don’t forget Ken Rosenthal’s report from earlier in the month that said Justin Verlander was an option for the team as well.
All of this would seem to indicate two thing:
- The Orioles are going to get at least one more major league arm in the near future, whether it is one of the names mentioned, or someone else entirely.
- They want each of these pitchers (or maybe Valdez, in particular) to know that they have other options, so let’s get this thing moving.
It is ideal for both the players and the team to have a deal in place prior to the start of spring training. Then they can have a full, normal preseason rather than playing catchup later on. Players that get into camp later often struggle out of the gate. Look no further than Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery in 2024. That could be the reason for the renewed urgency the last few days.
Valdez still feels like the far and away preference here. But there are worries. The 32-year-old is also going to be the most expensive, comes with draft pick compensation, and has some character worries after he seemingly intentionally crossed up his catcher Cesar Salazar last year. And if he is holding out for some offer that isn’t going to come, the Orioles may have to move on.
Gallen will also cost a draft pick, and he is coming off of a poor season. The argument for him would be that, other than 2025, he has a great track record and might still have enough in the tank to bounce back in a big way. It’s a risk though.
Verlander is probably the most predictable of the bunch. You know what you’re gonna get, and it’s not bad! He’s a veteran pitcher that knows how to compete. But he isn’t the ace he once was, and there are injury concerns with an aging arm.
Giolito feels like a fallback plan. His 3.41 ERA last year over 145 innings looks solid, but his 4.99 xERA and 7.51 K/9 are scary. Most of his metrics paint him as a below-average big league starter in 2025. So he probably isn’t the “playoff starter” the Orioles would hope to add.
All of these guys have warts. If the Orioles want someone with more upside and less risk, they probably need to look for a trade. But it’s a tough time of year to do that. Spring training is nearly here. Most teams want to start thinking about the start of the season. They don’t want to go looking for an addition to their rotation if they don’t have to. So any big trades will probably need to wait until July.
Links
Rogers reflects on magical 2025 season | Roch Kubatko
The Orioles’ continued search for upgrades to their rotation won’t matter much if Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish perform to the best of their ability. They have the potential to be the best duo in baseball. We just haven’t seen them together for extended periods of time yet.
Orioles Interested In Lucas Giolito | MLB Trade Rumors
Here is a bit more on the Giolito connection as well as the Orioles payroll situation. In short: they have flexibility to do something big. Giolito would not exactly fit that definition.
More Orioles played through injuries last year than we knew. How might things change in 2026? | The Baltimore Banner
It certainly feels like Mike Elias is building more contingencies into the roster this year than he did in 2025. The outfield has decent flexibility. If they add one more starting pitcher, that unit will be in a good spot as well. You can’t safeguard against every possible disaster, but Elias has done a nice job.
Measuring Orioles’ starting rotation against AL East rivals | Baltimore Baseball
The entire division has really intriguing rotations. The Red Sox and Blue Jays have been aggressive in adding reinforcements. The Yankees have tons of star power. The Rays always seem to churn out high-quality arms. And the Orioles have some serious upside in their arms, but oodles of risk too. It is going to be interesting!
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Cole Irvin turns 32 today. The lefty spent parts of two seasons with the Orioles from 2023-24. Irvin was expected to be an innings-eater at the back of the O’s rotation, but it never really stuck. Ultimately, he had a 4.68 ERA over 184.2 total innings before he was waived.
- Joel Bennett celebrates his 56th birthday. He appeared in two games out of the Orioles bullpen in 1998.
This day in O’s history
2010 – Former Orioles infielder Melvin Mora signs a one-year deal with the Rockies. He had been released a few months earlier so the O’s could sign Garrett Atkins. Mora, at 38 years old, was well past his prime, but Atkins ends up being an unmitigated disaster in 2010, released in July.
2024 – The Angelos family announces a $1.725 billion deal to sell majority ownership of the Baltimore Orioles to a group led by David Rubenstein and including Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. The deal still requires approval from MLB owners.
